Grasp device for hand trucks



A ril 21, 1953 c. F. ERNST 2,635,775

GRASP DEVICE FOR HAND TRUCKS Filed March 9, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet l I N V EN TOR. Char/es F Ems) A ril 21, 1953 c. F. ERNST 2,635,775

GRASP DEVICE FOR HAND TRUCKS Filed March 9, 1949 A 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q IN VEN TOR.

Char/es F Erna! Patented Apr. 21, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in raising and transporting devices or. trucks for rigid containers such as barrels and drums.

In prior devices of this type, manually operable means have been provided for gripping the chime of a metallic barrel preparatory to raisl ing the barrel by means of an elevating mechanism directly associated with the gripping device.

The barrel, having been properly elevated from the floor, was thus in a position permitting transport, with the gripping device being the chief support therefor. In this connection considerable trouble has been experienced in retaining the grip on the barrels during transport over rough and uneven factory or Warehouse floors, and

dangerous failureshave occurred either due to been found not only to obviate the danger of release during rough transport conditions, but to eliminate the time and danger incurred in the manual actuation and release of the gripping means as heretofore practiced.

The invention is also concerned with improvements in the elevating portion of the mechanism so that heavy loads may be raised with a minimum frictional loss, and, when so raised that accidental reversing of the process is rendered impossible:

' Other features and objects of the invention reside in several adjustable means for adapting the device to barrels of diiferent types and also to various structural improvements which permit economical mass production, as more fully set forth in the following description and claims.

- In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a lift truck embodying one form of the invention, in position preparatory to engaging the chime of a metal barrel or drum; Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3-3 of Fi 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation showing 7 the barrel engaged in elevated position, with the chassis shown in vertical section to portray the structure thereof;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; 1 Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the slide body of the gripping unit;

Fig. '7 is a side elevation similar to Fig. l

wherein is shown another embodiment of the invention, adapted to engage wood barrels;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of the upper chime engaging unit of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 99 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line l0lil of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the guide forming members of the upper unit in disassembled relation.

In Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, the gripping mechanism 10 of the device is for use with a metallic barrel or container B of such structure or strength that the barrel may be raised by engagement with the upper chime portion 0. The same truck, unit l3 including an accompanying lift unit I4 is adapted for use with both embodiments of the invention herein illustrated.

The truck unit l3 includes a chassis fabricated of a semi-circular member I5 within which a barrel B may be partly received (Fig. 2). This member is formed from a structural channel (Fig. 4) and at its extremities depending brackets I6 are welded to the upper flange thereof. The underlying portions of the lower flange are cut away, as indicated by the numeral 11, so that a wheel I8 may be received between the web IQ of the channel l5 and each bracket It. The wheels l8 are rotatably mounted on axles 2| which in turn extend through aligned apertures in the web [9 and brackets l6 and are riveted in position as indicated by the numeral 22.

A bracket 23 is welded to the central portion of the channel I5 and a swivel caster 24 is secured to its free extremity 25. The adjoining portions of the bracket 23 and channel I5 containslots 23a and I5a respectively (Fig. 4), for receiving a square post 26 whose lower extremity rests on the lower flange of the channel. The post 26 is rigidly welded to the bracket and channel and it extends upward at preferably a slight angle to the vertical.

The channel I5 is also formed with openings 21 (Fig. 3) in its Web I9, and such openings are spaced equally from the post 26 and receive small rollers 28. The rollers 28 are rotatably mounted a on pins 29 welded to the interior face of the web IS. The projecting portions of the rollers 28 serve as guides and steady rests for the barrel B, during elevation or transportation, as will hereinafter be more fully explained.

The lift or elevating unit [4 is carried by the post 26 and it is adjustable thereon to various vertical fixed positions so that barrels of different heights may be readily accommodated. The unit 14 includes a tubular sleeve 32 mounted for sliding movement along the post 25. A bearing member 33 forms part of the sleeve 32, and it carries a spring pressed plunger 34, the terminal portion 35 of which may be selectively entered in one of the spaced sockets 36 in the post 26 (Figs. 4 and A pivot pin 3! extends horizontally through and is fastened to the bearing portion 33, andits'projectingterminals31a serve to receive rotatably a. pair of camoreccentric members 3B, spacing washers 39, and the extremities 4| of a U-shaped handle 42. The cam members 38 have projecting integral arms 43 which are connected at their extremities ''-by a welded tie bar 44 so that the cams may berotatedas'a cam unit on the pivot pin 31. j v

It will be observed that upon clockwise m-anual rotation of the handle 42 from its upper position (Fig. 1), it contacts thevbar 44 of the'cam unit and carries it to its lower position as shown in Figfi l. This "movementjin conjunction with'the gripping mechanism H3, constitutes the barrellifting stroke of'the device. During thefirst few *degr'ees'of the opposite or counterclockwise movement of the handle 42, the cam unit will not follow thehandle, since it is in alocked or'dead eenter position with-respect'to the load, as will -be'-pre'sently understood. Thehandle 42 and-bar 44 aretherefore coupled by a latchunit 46 having a latch element 4'! engaging a dog 48- secured --to'-an'-adjacent portion of the handle 42 (Fig. 4). Abracket isis securedtothe bar 44yand itis prov-ided withapinlllupon which the unit -46 is pivotally l mounted.

*Which is engageable with-a projecting-dog 53 forming'part of'the =s1eeve 32. -A leaf spring 54, carried by the bracket 4$,engages the portion '52 andconstantly-urges the latch device 46 in a liclockwise direction.

"The engaging or gripping "mechanism l0 in- :cludes internal and external chime engagingunits SG -andBL-the former consisting of a slidebody 358 -(Fig; 6) of heavy sheet metalformed with'a back 59 andsides 6l which 'enclose three sides cofthepost 'ZB (Figs.'5 ando). Thesidesfii have reinforcedaprojections 62 terminating in depending ear-$63,120 which is welded'a transverse bar or internal chime engaging'jaw 64. A spacer-rivet 65 700111160133316 sides Biand'it is positioned to engage the outer side of the post 26. Thelower r portions of the sides fii are'for'me'd-with wings fi'l "containing aligned vertical slots 68, the right 'hand wall of 'suchslots having regularly-spaced "Iteeth or projections 69.

The external chime engaging-unite? (Figs. 4 and '5) is fabricated'of a channel'shaped body -|I,-'a curved external jaw'member 12=welded to :the upper margin-of the body H, and a pair of 0am follower blocks 13- Welded to the internal sides.

- of theb0dy1Leach in spaced relation to the lower margin thereof. The unitET'stra'ddIes the wings 61 of the unit 56, as best seen in'Fig. '5, and the units -a're loosely connected by-apivot pin 14, which pin is carriedby the-'unit 5l' and'extends I horizontallythrough the sl0ts 68- of the wing portions" 61. Theunit 5l-also carries an upwardly projecting arm 75 whichisengageable by a pro- -jecting stud losecured to one of v the projections 62 of"the sIide-body-ES. When thus assembled and mounted on thepost-Qd-it will be seen that the cam follower blocks 13 of the gripping mech- ;a'nism "l0 rest directlycn the cam members 38 i of the elevating unit! 4.

- -Inoperating'the device; the handle 42 swung 'The latch unit46 -isalso formed with a' second or look latch portion 52,

'ternal'element 5'5. 138 which engage th pin'l kpreventseparation-of to its uppermost position and the truck is maneuvered to encompass the barrel B (Fig. 1) with the external jaw member 12 of the gripping mechanism in brought into registry under the chime C of the barrel. The internal chime engaging unit 5'! is then slid downwardly on the post 26 until its jaw 64 engages the interior portion of the chime C. In Fig. 1, the jaw 64 of unit 57 is shownabout to enter within "ethe chime,

- forcere'sulting in aloacl applied angularly-"downward through the cam follower blocks 1 3- -to the cams 38, while the other force, 'whicn is hor-rzontal, is applied to the internal jaw 12= of: the unit '51. This-results inthe chime beinglgripped "firmly between the. jaws. Duringethe raising'eof the barrel, the pin 14, being retained-in the slots 68, prevents horizontal displacementvofrthetex- The. proj ectionslBB: in'theeslots theunits fifi and S'lduringthe lowering of'a'the barrel, when the-frictional loadofzthelsliderbody 58 on thepost 26 would-:otherwise tendtoiinfluence su'ch separation.

When the barrel isiinzraised. positions-as shown in Fig.4,1the handle :42xmay beifreedzofritsiconnection with thez'cam unit,:so thatvit maysbe nsed for towing the truck. This isra'ccomplishedeby lifting the latch device .dt 'andraising the-handle 42 to clear the" dog 48, -whereupon the :sec'ond latch portion 52 immediately engages .the dog 153 onthe sleeve 32. In subsequent--towing-move- 'ment of the truck, .the cam;unitisthus-efiec- 'tively locked to 'thelpostagainst displ cement which might be caused by accidental blows-or severe jogging over rough floors.

When it is desired to lower .the -barrel,-.the handle 42 is simplydropped-to-its.lowest. position, whereupon the dog 48 engages the;-- latch Y the handle 42 and cam -un-itlthus :reunited the handle is again operable to lower the -.barre1.

portion 41 andcauses thedisengagement of -the latch portion 52 fromthe sleeve dog 53. :With

The arm of the unit 57 is provided .toenable theoperator to disengage-the jaw 12 from be- 1 neath the chime C after the barrel is lowered-to the floor Itwill be noted that-when the-barrel -isin the raised position of-Fig. 4. the cams 38 are slightly beyond their dead center position with relation to the load on the cam follower blocks -12. This not onlyserves as an additional lock,=butj permits operation of the latching device without: danger to. the. operator. Over travel of' the cams is; prevented by engagement of the bar 44 against the post 26, so that .the bar :also acts as .ar-"stop member.

The invention is applicable to barrels andcontainers havingvarious styles andssizes of chimes,

since the jaws of the chime engaging' un-its'iifi and 51 may be separated vertioallyLandichorizontally to accommodate chimes ef -larger -sizes. In such cases the pin 14 may-"engage-dilferent teeth ts in thesl'otted-portion' of the slide i body unit [4, and it consists of chime engaging units 8| and 82.

The unit Bl includes a lift bar 83 carried for sliding movement on the post 29 by an attached clevis 84, and guide means incorporated in the unit 82. The lower portion of the bar 93 is provided withatapered wedge 85 which is adapted to be rammed under the lower chime or bottom of a barrel B and to carry the load of the barrel when it is raised. A pair of spaced.

, cam followers 86 are secured tothe central portion of the bar 83, and they straddle the post 26 and ride upon the earns 38 of the lift unit l4. 7 The unit 82 is fabricated of a number of heavy sheet metal members to provide a carrier for a chime engaging member hereinafter described.

A receiving portion for the bar 83 is provided by two channel shaped members 81 and 88 (Fig. 11), assembled in nestedrelation (Fig. 9) to form a rectilinear tube-like portion 89. The member 81 is provided with central arms 81d which project through aligned slots 38a in the member 88 and which straddle the post 26. A U-shaped cap member 9! is welded to the arms 81a, and together therewith form a second receiving portion 92, this portion being devised to receive the post 26. A guide member 93, of channel formation, is provided with reentrant opposed marginal flanges =99 and 95, the lower flange 95 being formed with spaced ratchet teeth 96. The previouslydescribed member 88 is provided with a flange extension 99 to which the member 93 is welded.

A ratchet member 91 is received within the guide member 93 and it is formed with a projecting dog 98 on its right hand extremity, which engages in one of the teeth 99. The left hand corners of the member 91 are provided with extending rounded ears I90, H, which are sup ported both laterally and vertically within the guide member 93 for sliding movement. At the right hand corners, the member 91 is formed with similar ears I02, I93, which ears, however, are shorter, so that although they are laterally supported in the member 93, they permit an up and down movement of this end of the guide member 91 to permit disengagement (Fig. 8) or engagement (Fig. 7) of the dog 98 with one of the teeth 96.

The central portion of the member 91 is bent laterally to project beyond the plane of the flanges 94 and 95 and to provide a seat I94, upon which is Welded an arm 195. The arm IE is provided with a depending flanged portion lflia, to which a curved jaw I96 is secured (Fig. 9). The ratchet unit is retained against accidental loss from the guide member by a rivet 99 secured to the extremity of the guide member.

A look pawl I0! is pivotally mounted on a stud I08 riveted to the right hand portion of the ratchet member 91, and such pawl is movable from an inoperative or horizontal position (Fig. 8) to a vertical position (Fig. 7) to frictionally engage the overlying portion of the guide flange 94, thus effectively locking the latch unit against movement.

It will be observed that after the wedge 85 of bar 83 is positioned under the barrel, the unit 82 may be slid downward on the post 29 until the jaw IEIB engages the head of the barrel B. The ratchet member 9! is then moved to position the jaw I06 with the interior of the barrel chime. During this adjustment, the ratchet dog 98 enters one of the guide teeth 96 and the barrel is ready 'for elevation- The handle 42' is then swung downwardly, to cause thecams 38 to engage. the followers 86, thereby elevatingthe barrel, in the manner described in connection with the first embodiment.

It will be noted-that both formsof the invention include, as common subject matter, a truck unit which partially surrounds the container, an elevating mechanism having apart to engagea chime, and a, projecting member adaptedto engage the inner edge of a chime to prevent the container from tipping over. Thedi fferences in the two forms reside in the adaptation of the truck to metal barrels, which are connnonly formed with rolled chimes,. an'd .woodenbarrels in which the ends of the staves are smooth. It is also to be noted that the transport devicemay be fabricated from sheet metal, thereby making it inexpensive to. manufacture, and withal providing an apparatus having high strength.

It will be understoodby those skilled in the art that the examples of the invention as above described are intended to disclose certain inventive principles, which are obviously applicable eluding atruck having a vertical post, an elevating device affixed to said, post including cam means and a handle, means on the device for mounting the cam means and the handle for independent rotation, latch means carried by the cam means and adapted to engage said handle to connect the cam means and handle for united rotation, container engaging means carried for guided movement by said post and including a follower resting on said cam means, said cam means being operable by said handle to elevate said container engaging means to a raised position on said post, and a dog on said elevating device, said latch means being manually disengageable from the handle when the cam means have been moved to raise said container engaging means and being then engageable with said dog to lock the cam means against rotation and to free said handle for towing movement of the truck.

2. In apparatus for transporting chimed containers including a truck having a vertical post, container engaging means including a member slidably mounted on said post and having a jaw portion spaced from said post and being formed to engage the interior of a container chime, said member being also formed with a vertically slotted portion below said jaw portion and adjacent said post, a second member, a pivot pin carried by said second member and engaging through the slotted portion of said first member, said second member having a vertically extending portion terminating in a jaw, said second member being swingable to an angular position to permit engagement of the jaw thereof with the exterior of a container chime, and a lifting device afiixed to the post and having a vertically movable portion supporting said second member.

3. In apparatus for transporting chimed containers including a truck having a vertical post, a lifting device affixed to said post and having spaced lift cam means, means for operating said cams, container supporting means comprising a channel shaped member having one wall and projecting sides slidably engaging said post, a jaw -1 earrmaamrthetermlnmportion ofthe-sides and spacd:' 'f;rom"'said -postga second channel'shaped *mefnber haying si'des extending toward 'saict post, 'a jaw carried by said second-"member adjacent the upper extremity thereof and interposedbe- 1 tween the law of'sai'd 'fifst memb'erand said post, am jawsf'being adapted to engage' opposite sides o: .9; 'container ehimefiw piVOt'pin Garried' by-the asecond -member amrextendmg --betweemthe-sides adjacent the""lowen -extremity thereof; said -first member being "formed with {slotted *portions' 1 in 'the sides thereof adjacent said post" for s1idab1y receivirig-saidpinj -and *camfollowefplates carfledby'eachsideofsaid second member adjacent *the lower 'extremity"*thereoffi said plates -b'eing w fsupportedon-"the lift cam -mea'ns of-"said lifting device.

' 4F Inx'apparatus foi transporting containers ineluding a truck haying a vertical -"po'st," a l bar,

means suppdrting said" bar for sliding parallelv movement'relative tosaid" post: a" lateral "projec- "tion on the lower extremity *of :saidbar adapted 'to'"be" enga'g'edmnder a container; a-unit includ- "ing'a: body form'edwith' spaced parallel guidepor- "'tiOnsslidably"engaged about said post and said v barf'achannel shapedportion projecting horizontallyfzom saidho'dwand having reentrant flange portions, a ratchet "member received 'in said channel shaped portion and havinga Drojectmg' fdogy teetnform'ed in oneof'- sa'id flange portions, said *Jratchet*"membermeing -sli'dably *"movablf-infsaid chamiel shaped'tportion whereby 5 the dog-thereof may be selectiiiely engag e' with one-of said 'teeth a' curved jawiai'carrie'd by *said r'at'chet memberand adapted toen'gage ithen'internal margin" of-thetop of a container, follower means-earned by said bar, and an elevating mechanism aifixed to said post: and eng'ageable *witlithe follower means on" said bar.

5IIn apparatus for transporting contamers, a

tru'ck including "a channel' bent into generally 10 *jadent one-"end thereof; depending brackets con- "nected 'to -the ends-of the channel, Wheels of small diameter rotatably mounted on the: bracksemi circular-"form to encompass a container adets; spaced guide rollers rotatably mounted in" the an**elevating' mechanism'slidably mounted on the CHARLES FL "ERNST! References Citedin the" filebf this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

